Changes Your Life
by blindtigeress
Summary: Having children changes your life. Meeting new people changes your life. Meeting old people changes your life. Plus, this description is bad. So just read the story. AU Sanji/Zoro yaoi later. Rated M for later content.
1. Prologue

A/N: I got woken up on a Saturday around 9, when I should've been sleeping in until noon. And this story popped into my head. I hope it turns out the way it does in my brain. But sometimes my writing gets away from me. If you love it, that's wonderful, if you hate it, that's okay. But either way, do a girl a favor and review. Makes my world. Thanks. :) Enjoy.

Also, Remember that girl who was in the Baratie having lunch with Fullbody? Pretend her name is Annette and stick her in this story.

-o-

"Annette…" Sanji sat up groggily, the sound of rustling waking him up. "Why are you packing?"

"I'm leaving Sanji." The blonde woman kept piling her clothes into her suit case.

"Why? Where? For how long?" Sanji rubbed the sleep out of his eyes a little bit.

"Why? Because I need to get away. I don't know where, probably my sister's place in New York. And forever, Sanji. I'm not coming back."

At this Sanji jumped up and went over to Annette, he grabbed her arm and turned her to look at him. "Why? Don't you want to stay here with us? You know I love you Annette. I want to make you happy. Just stay with me." She pulled away and went back to packing.

"No, Sanji, I'm sorry. But nothing you do or say is going to stop me."

"But why do you even want to leave in the first place. I thought you were happy with me. With us." Sanji reached out for the blonde's arm. She pulled away, stopped packing and looked him in the eye.

"Look Sanji. The last 9 months were fun. It wasn't all bad. And I'm glad that you're so willing to give up your eternal bachelor image just for me. But… This isn't what I want. I don't want a baby. I'll just be bad for it." She huffed and threw her arms up. "I mean, come on! I'm only 23, you're 22, we're barely out of college. I can't handle this. I don't want it."

"But Annette, if this isn't what you wanted, why didn't you stop it earlier? You could've put her up for adoption, or had an abortion. I would've been there for whatever you chose."

"I know that Sanji, that's why you're so sweet. But honestly, aborting it seemed too mean, and if you really want, you can put it up for adoption. I don't really care. But I don't want this. Besides, it cries way too much. I haven't slept properly in days."

"Her, Annette, she's a girl, not an 'it'. She's your baby girl." Sanji looked at Annette with sad eyes. "Can't you just call her by her name?"

"Look, Sanji, I might have had a baby, and it might have been a girl. But I don't have a baby girl. I don't WANT a baby girl. So just let me go, okay?" With that, Annette zipped up her suit case and walked out of Sanji's front door and he never saw her again. The entire time, the baby sleeping in the crib in the corner didn't stir at all.


	2. Just Another Day

_**A/N: **_**Hey you guys! Happy Holidays! New chapter for a Christmas present to you. And if you don't celebrate Christmas, then just think of it as a regular update and nothing out of the ordinary. **

**Umm.. I forget what I was about to type… Oh yes! I hope your day is wonderful and full of joy, and if you want to make my Christmas, all I want for Christmas is you… To review! I don't care if you hate it, I'd love it if you love it, or if you just want to ramble about your holidays. Anyway you want it, I want to hear it. Your reviews keep me writing like no other. It is honestly the fire that burns down that wall that is known as writer's block. Thank you! I love you! Enjoy!**

_4 Years Later_

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Sanji turned around wiping his hands on a towel as his legs were hugged together by the small blonde girl holding onto him. He tried to not lose his balance and reached out to steady himself on the counter.

He put his hand on her head. "Yes, Sophia-chwan?"

She hugged his legs tighter and looked up at him with shining blue eyes. "Good morning Daddy!"

Sanji lost it. She was just so adorable and sweet. He picked her up, floppy stuffed rabbit, pink pajamas and all, and spun her around. "Good morning Sophia-chwan! I love you so much!" He kissed her cheek and she giggled.

"Daddy! Daddy that tickles! Put me down, Daddy." Sanji spun her around one more time, and put her down in her chair at the bar.

"So, Sweetie, what do you want for breakfast?" Sanji leaned across the counter and smiled at the little girl.

Sophia closed her eyes tight and hugged her rabbit. "Umm… I don't know!" She opened her eyes and smiled. "Something yummy Daddy!"

"Yes ma'am!" Sanji spun around and started pulling food out of the fridge. In just a few minutes he made chocolate chip pancakes, chopped up some fruit and squeezed some orange juice in the juicer. He turned back towards Sophia, "Sophia, darling, Mr. Snuggles isn't allowed on the counter during meal times."

She pulled Mr. Snuggles onto her lap. "Okay, Daddy."

"That's my girl." Sanji smiled and set the plate of food down in front of the little girl, walked around the counter with his own breakfast. "Nee, Sophia, what do we say before breakfast?"

Sophia clapped her hands together, "Eata. Ittadaku…"

"Ittadaki-."

"Ittadakimasu!" Sophia smiled at her father, who smiled back at her.

"Ittadakimasu," said Sanji, and they began to eat.

After breakfast it was time to get ready for preschool. Sanji would usually pick out Sophia's clothes and put her hair up. Sometimes she would refuse to wear what he picked out though and choose something for herself.

Today was one of those days.

"No Daddy! I wanna wear the striped stockings! With my pink skirt! Not the gwrey with blue! Daddy! I don't wanna wear the blue jacket! I wanna wear my Dora jacket! Dora! Dora! Dora!" She started jumping up and down.

Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose. His daughter was honestly the sweetest and cutest thing that had ever graced this planet, but her whining voice was not. "Okay Sophia," said Sanji in defeat. He went to grab the Dora the Explorer jacket from her to help her put it on, and she instantly ran away yelling, "Swiper no swiping! Swiper no swiping!"

Now that, Sanji had to laugh at, she was so ridiculous with only one stocking on and her hair everywhere. Sanji ran after her and swept her up, "Swipe! I got you!" Sophia giggled like crazy and Sanji started to tickle her. Her giggles turned to screams and she squirmed in his arms.

"Okay Sophia, sweetheart, let's finish up getting dressed. You don't want to be late today do you?" Sophia shook her head and Sanji nodded, "That's what I thought." He helped her put on her jacket and put her feathery blonde hair up in a pony tail. "Okay, Sophia-chwan, let's go!" Sanji took Sophia's hand and walked out of the front door, locking up behind them. They would walk across the street and through the park. Then three blocks from there was Sophia's preschool.

Walking in the door, Sanji signed Sophia in. Then he crouched down on the ground before her, "Nee, Sweetheart, Daddy has to go to work early today, okay? So Grandpa Zeff is going to pick you up from school."

"But Daddy, why can't you come pick me up too?" Sophia hugged Mr. Snuggles and started pouting.

"Awe, Darling, I'm so sorry, but Daddy has to work so we can have a place to live, and I promise, next week you can come in with me, okay?" Sanji leaned forward and kissed his daughter on the top of her head.

"Okay…"

"Bye bye Sophia-chwan, give Daddy a kiss?" She kissed his cheek and he smiled. "I love you."

"Love you too Daddy." Then the teacher came out and escorted Sophia into the class and Sanji left.

From there, Sanji walked back home. He cleaned up a bit; picking up Sophia's toys and cleaned up her room. He vacuumed a little and sat down to drink some tea around noon. When he was done, he took a shower, put on his favorite black suit, got in his car, and drove to his restaurant.

It was a little thing. He had saved up for it all throughout college working several jobs, as a waiter, tutoring, and teaching a cooking class. He was able to buy it just a couple months after Sophia was born. At first, it was hard, because he only had one employee, and he had to take care of a baby. But pretty soon it began to thrive and he was able to hire more people, and even save enough to buy their house. Because of how well the restaurant was doing, Sanji was able to only have to work 5 days a week and only for dinner, that way he could ask a friend his friend Vivi to watch Sophia and put her to bed.

Vivi was an elementary school teacher, and she had gone to college with Sanji. Even though he asked her about 4 times a week, she never went out with him, and was one of the few girls that he knew and hadn't dated in college. Sanji was grateful for her friendship because she was willing to babysit for him, not rob him blind like some daycares, and he trusted her. Because of being a teacher, she would get off of work right about when Sanji would have to leave for the dinner hours at the restaurant. Sanji loved his job because he could spend the days with Sophia and leave her in the care of a close friend for a few hours before bed. And then he enrolled her in preschool earlier that year and Sanji felt like things just kept getting better.

When Sanji walked in the restaurant, it was already noon, and the lunch shift was in full swing. Greeting a couple people, Sanji made his way to the back and through the kitchen, towards his little office in the back. The reason he had to go in to work early was because he had so much paperwork to do. Several orders of food and some new dishes came in the other day, so he had to put in the invoices and payday was coming up, so he had to go through all the hours and make sure there weren't any mistakes before the checks were finalized and sent off.

After a couple hours there was a light knock on his door, and Sanji looked up from his computer. "Come in." The door cracked open a bit and a blonde haired girl poked her head in. "Oh, Conis-swan, what can I do for you?"

"Umm… Sanji-san, I don't mean to disturb you, but there are some guys fighting out front…"

Sanji stood up quickly and walked to the door. "What? Are they customers?"

Conis followed Sanji through the kitchen, "No, but they're making it hard for people to get in and out, and I'm afraid they might break the front window. Kidd was going to go out there and break it up, but Bonney said to wait until you came first."

Sanji sighed, leave it to his bartender to want to start a fight. But even though she tended to get in a lot of fights, at least Bonney was level headed enough to not let it get dragged into the work place. Sanji walked up behind the pink haired hostess, who was watching the fight through the window and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to look at him, a smirk on her face.

"Sanji, you gotta see this, these two guys are getting wrecked by the green-head."

"Anything I should know before I go out there Bonney?" Sanji pinched the bridge of his nose, just what he needed on such a busy day, a fight in front of his restaurant.

"Not really, just the two guys seem pretty drunk and it barley 4:30 and those late luncher/ early dinner people can't get through the door. You might wanna do something before they leave."

Sanji sighed and walked out the door, clapping his hands loudly. "Okay shitheads! Break it up! Take your drunk-ass fight somewhere else." One of the men was on the ground, red-faced and cowering, while the other was being held up by the collar by a man with green hair and an angry look on his face. He dropped the man when he heard Sanji come outside.

"You heard Blondie, get your asses out of here before I kick them into next week." The man with the green hair gave the man on the ground a loose kick with his foot while he scrambled to grab his friend and drag him away. The man stood there with his arms crossed.

"Oi, you too moss-head. We don't need people making trouble around here." Sanji lit a cigarette and blew the smoke out of the corner of his mouth.

"Oh, is this the thanks I get for protecting your little work place? As pathetic as they were, I doubt you could have taken them both Blondie."

Sanji's brow creased with anger and he walked up the man, wanting so badly to wipe that smug look off his face. Pushing his finger into the man's chest with one hand and taking his cigarette out of his mouth with the other Sanji said, "Look, BUSTER, first of all, do NOT call me blondie, or I'll have to beat the shit out of you. Secondly, I could've taken those guys, and you, all sober, easily, so get your sorry ass out of here."

The man looked down at Sanji's finger and straight into Sanji's eyes. "Hey now, Curlique, that's assault."

Sanji just broke under the stress and anger. He flicked his cigarette away and brought his leg soaring up, that the other man had to drop on the ground to avoid. Noticing the change in position, Sanji stopped his leg mid-swing and brought it down so hard a small crack appeared in the pavement. Luckily for the other man, he had rolled away and jumped up in the knick of time. Sanji planted his leg that just went down firmly and spun around, performing a perfect roundhouse kick to the other man's chest, only to have his leg caught in the man's arm.

Sanji glared at him and opened his mouth, but right then, he heard (and felt) the other man's stomach rumble. "You're hungry." Sanji stated.

"Duh, shithead. What do you think I was doing outside of a restaurant if I was full?" The man sneered and dropped Sanji's leg. Sanji took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. After staring at the man for a couple seconds, he changed his mind, put it back in the box and started walking to the restaurant.

When he got to the door and noticed the moss-head wasn't following him, he turned around and said, "Well, shit-head? You hungry or not?" And with that, he led the way in.

**Remember to review! 3**


	3. A job opportunity

A/N: Sorry it took so long for this you guys. Just gotta get my life in place. Anyways. Thanks ahead for reading, and… hope you like it!

Please review! Thanks.

Zoro followed the blonde man into the restaurant. From where he was, he had a very nice view. Of the restaurant, and a certain man's backside. But Zoro averted his eyes quickly, keeping his head enough to remember he wasn't supposed to do that in public places. Leave it to homophobes and other freaks to not let a bi man check out a nice piece of ass. If it was a girl checking out a girl, that'd be 'hot'.

Ha! Yeah right. What's hot was this blondes' legs. Oops. That's right. He was supposed to stop looking. Right then Zoro almost ran into the other man as he stopped and turned around. They were standing at a corner table next to the window. A romantic place away from prying eyes. Probably so the other patrons wouldn't stare at the guy with the green hair who was in a fight with a waiter and a couple of drunks. Zoro looked around kind of nervously.

"Have a seat, and I'll bring you something to eat."

"What? Not even gonna let me order for myself?" Zoro said.

"Nope. I know what's good." The blonde was walking away and didn't even look at Zoro as he replied.

"Fucker." Zoro whispered to himself.

After a couple minutes, the blonde was back with a beer and a glass. He set it down and walked away again.

"Thanks." Zoro said. And his only reply was a wave of the hand.

"Mother fucker." Zoro breathed out.

Fifteen minutes later and the blonde was back, carrying a large tray above his head to avoid it knocking into the people moving around him. He brought the tray down and started setting down plates on the table. There were about 6 different dishes and looking at them was making Zoro's mouth water. Something in the back of his head was nagging him about the cost, but he was sure he had enough, and even if it meant not eating for the next two days, this looked way too good to pass up.

"Don't eat yet. I'll be right back." Once more the blonde crossed the room, ignoring Zoro.

"Don't… eat…? Don't eat yet? That fuckhead. What is it this time?" Zoro grumbled and his stomach growled in protest.

Just when Zoro was about to pick up his fork and start eating, the blonde was back, holding two plates and a couple more beers. He set a plate down in front of Zoro and took a seat across for him. Zoro just sat there and stared while he watched the waiter start piling food onto his plate.

….

…..

"What are you doing?" asked Zoro.

"Eating! Wow, you must really be dumb. I haven't eaten yet either, so I'm eating lunch with you. Got a problem?" the blonde started eating, leaving Zoro behind in the dust.

"Oh. Um. Not really. But won't your boss get angry?" Zoro started putting food on his plate too. It all looked so good! Lasagna, and pesto chicken, fresh bread. His stomach rumbled at him, trying to get him to move faster.

"HA!" The blonde man just kept eating.

"Okay, whatever. It's your job." Zoro shrugged. Then stuck out his hand. "I'm Zoro, by the way."

"Sanji." They gripped hands and then went back to eating. Zoro took his first bite and his eyes went wide.

"Holy shit."

"What? Something wrong?" Sanji looked up at him.

"This is so. Fucking. DELICIOUS." Zoro started devouring everything on his plate. Occasionally stopping to take a drink of his beer.

Zoro finished faster than Sanji and clapped his hands together. "Gochisousama deshita! That was great."

Sanji laughed. "Japanese, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. Half. On my mom's side." Zoro laughed. "Sometimes I forget to not do that in public."

"Nah, it's cool. I used to live in Japan for a couple years. Back in my elementary and middle school days." Sanji sat back and took a sip of his beer.

"Oh yeah? What for?" Asked Zoro.

"Ah, my dad's a chef and he got it in his head that he had pretty much perfected all European styles of cooking. So we moved to Japan and he kept cooking and I went to school." Sanji stood up and started stacking the plates together.

"Oh I see." Zoro stretched his arms, and then relaxed a little. "Hey, that was some fucking awesome food. You wanna go get the chef for me?"

Sanji laughed. "Ha! Okay. I'll get him." Carrying the plates, Sanji disappeared into the kitchen.

After about a minute, he came back out. Alone. "Hey, what's the deal? Is he super busy or something?" questioned Zoro as Sanji took the seat across from him again.

"No. He's not too busy." Replied Sanji, who was laughing slightly.

"Then where's he at?"

"You're looking at him." Sanji spread his arms and sat back.

Zoro looked at him. "You're shitting me."

Sanji chuckled. "Nope, not shittin' you."

"Well then," Zoro stuck out his hand and Sanji took it. "Thanks man. For the fucking best meal ever."

"You're welcome. And of course it was the best meal ever. If it said it wasn't, I'd have to throw you out for lying."

"Conceited much?" said Zoro with a smile as he let go of Sanji's hand.

"Not conceited. Just speaking the truth. And I'm surprised you even know what that means."

"Again with the insults, Blondie? And here I was hoping you'd be above that." said Zoro.

Sanji kicked him under the table, lightly, as not to break anything. "What did I say about calling me 'Blondie' fucker?"

"More harassment! Why don't you go get me your boss?" Zoro sneered. No way was the blonde getting out of this one. "I've got something I want to ask him, on top of reporting you."

Sanji stood up in a flash. "Fine! I'll be right back." He walked briskly into the kitchen, and came back out less than a minute later, and sat back down across from Zoro. "There."

"Well? Where is he?" asked Zoro.

"God you're thick." Said Sanji under his breath. "You're looking at him."

"No way. This is your restaurant?" Zoro was in a state of serious disbelief.

"Yep."

"Ah… Shit." His head dropped and banged on the table.

"What? What is it?" asked Sanji. "You aren't drunk, are you?"

"No. No way would two beers get me drunk. It's just that… This is your restaurant."

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, two things. One, I can't fucking report your behavior." Zoro held up one finger, with his forehead still pressed up against the table.

"Oi. Like I'd let you fucking report me." Said Sanji.

"Don't interrupt. TWO, ah fuck." Zoro sat up, and looked Sanji in the eye. "I'm gonna sound like an idiot asking you this…"

"When do you not sound like an idiot? I haven't experienced that yet."

"Hey, what did I say about interrupting?"

"Yeah, yeah. Get on with it. You were gonna ask me?"

"Can I work here? Just hear me out first. I saw your help wanted sign in the window, right? And I was gonna come in, have some lunch, and ask for a job, like a normal person. But then, these drunk fuckers come up, talking about breaking bottles, and then they see ME, and they're just like 'oh look, that guy's got green hair, let's smash his face in the window.' So I did you a favor, saved your window, and beat them up. So I know I made a bad first impression, but I still want to work here."

Sanji's eyebrows disappeared under his hair. "Uh huh…"

"Wait! I'm not done yet. I just want you to know, that I really need a job, because I just moved into this city. And I've already been to about 12 other places since yesterday and none of them will hire me." Zoro didn't know whether he should out-right beg this guy for a job. He absolutely, did not want to do it. But it seemed like something this guy would get off on. So he was ready to do it.

"Well…" Sanji sat back in his chair, a smirk on his face.

_Oh god, he's gonna make me beg, _thought Zoro.

"I can hire you. But…"

_Oh god, fairy princess, someone! Please, don't let him say no, and don't make me beg._

"You'll have to start off as a dishwasher/ busboy and you only get minimum wage."

Zoro jumped out of his chair. "YES!" He sat back down. "When can I start?"

Sanji thought about it a little. "Tomorrow is good. Be here at 10:30 so I can walk you through some things before we open."

"In the morning?"

"Duh the morning. What kind of restaurant opens after 10:30 at night?"

"Oh. I don't know."

"Yeah, exactly. Well, I've got some paperwork I have to get back to. So get out of here, and I'll see you tomorrow." Sanji stood up and started to walk away.

"Wait," said Zoro, also standing up.

"Don't worry about the bill." Said Sanji with a wave of his hand.

"No, it's not that. Just, thanks for hiring me."

Sanji turned around, and smiled. "Yeah. No problem."


	4. Place to Stay?

**A/N: Ah! Sorry it's been so long. I was just so brain dead to writing. But I feel so much better now that I'm back. Sorry for the wait. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think of this new chapter!**

It had been two weeks since Sanji had made the decision to hire that rude, uncouth, dumbass, mother fucker. And surprisingly, he was a much better worker than Sanji would have expected. He was never late and had a pretty good attitude about cleaning up after people, which was something Sanji hadn't seen from a busboy in a while. There was just one thing that Sanji noticed that was bothering him, and it needed to be taken care of.

He watched Zoro carry the tray of dishes back into the kitchen from across the restaurant and Sanji made a beeline through the tables, following after him. Zoro was standing at the sink, taking the dishes from the tray, rinsing them and placing them in the dishwasher like he had been taught. Sanji came up behind him and placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Zoro, when you're done here, I need to see you in my office, okay?"

Zoro didn't turn to look at Sanji, or even stop what he was doing, but he nodded in reply and that was good enough for Sanji.

Sanji went back to his office and sat down behind his desk. Usually this time of night he liked to be right in the middle of things. Either cooking or out in the dining room chatting with the customers. Sanji sighed and turned on his computer. Might as well check his email while he was waiting.

After a few minutes of waiting, there was a knock on his door. "Come in," Sanji answered immediately.

Zoro walked in, somewhat nervously and closed the door behind him. He really hoped Sanji wasn't second guessing hiring him. Or telling him his hours needed to be cut. Or something along those lines. Zoro's stomach jumped when Sanji spoke.

"Have a seat."

Zoro automatically sat down in the chair on the other side of Sanji's desk. "Uh… You wanted to see me?"

"Yeah, there's something that's bothering me that I needed to discuss with you, Zoro."

_I swear to God, if I get fired because of my hair again… I'll lose it._ "Yes?"

"Lately, well actually, for the past 3 days, Zoro, I've noticed that your shirt hasn't been properly ironed. Now usually, I would let this slide, especially because it's only been a couple days. But I've also been noticing that the spot you got on the front on Tuesday has been there ever since. Which means that it hasn't been washed ever since. I don't know whether it's actually been longer, of if it's only been the 3 days, but either way, you can't just not take care of your uniform. And I don't really appreciate you coming to work not looking up to par. Now, I know you told me you just moved to here, which is part of the reason you wanted this job so badly, but now I'm wondering, do you even have a place to live?"

Zoro didn't know whether to be relieved or even more anxious. He settled for just staring at his hands on his knees. "Ah… Well, about that…" _Best to just be honest here, I guess. _"Well, when I first moved here, I was staying in a hotel on some of my savings, but I only really had enough to stay there for about a week, then I had a couple day's extra from working here, but now I'm just living out of my car, taking showers at the gym and looking for an apartment…"

Sanji leaned forward in his chair, his arms resting on his desk. "Well, is there anyone that you know living here that you could stay with?"

Zoro just shook his head. For some reason, this felt rather embarrassing and he didn't like it at all.

"Okay. Well, I guess you just gotta keep looking, and I'll see what I can do too. But you should start taking your things to a Laundromat or something. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

"Okay, that's it. You can go."

"Thanks." Zoro got up and left, shutting the door again.

Sanji let out a sigh and sat back in his chair again. There aren't a lot of people in the world willing to rent to a guy with such little money, and there were even less who were willing to let a stranger stay with them while he saved up enough to rent his own place. But he could at least make a couple calls and find out.

Sanji grabbed his cell phone and flipped through his contacts. He might as well get started now. He pressed the send button a couple times and put the phone to his ear.

The phone rang gently, volume turned down low. If Sanji was gonna call him, his eardrums were better off with the volume almost silent. After a few seconds, there was a click, and then, "HEY! SANJI! What's up? Are you gonna come over for dinner tonight?"

"Hey Luffy. No, I'm not. I'm actually calling to see if you can do me a favor."

"Sure! What is it? I'll see what I can do."

"I've got this new employee, he's new to the area and he actually needs a place to stay for the next couple of days so he can get enough money to rent his own place."

"Ah… Sanji. That's probably the one thing I can't do for you! My brother is in town for a couple weeks and he's actually staying on our couch. Which is cool, but we don't have a lot of space. I'd totally be up for letting him stay if he wanted to sleep on the floor, but Nami doesn't really like even Ace around. And she LIKES Ace, thinks he's polite. I'm sorry."

"Ah… That's okay, Luffy. It was a long shot anyways. Well, I gotta make a few more calls then. I'll talk to you some other time, kay?"

"Okay Sanji! Come by for dinner sometime, alright? Bring Sophie with you! She's fun."

"Hahaha! Sure thing Luffy. Bye."

"Bye bye!"

There was another click in Sanji's ear as Luffy hung up. Sanji ran his hand through his hair. Luffy had been his best shot, just because he's so friendly and willing, but that fell through.

After about ten calls and still no luck, Sanji decided to give up. It was time to go home anyways. He packed up his computer and the rest of his things and left his office, locking it behind him. Sanji made his way through the dining room waving at some of the last customer's finishing their meals. It was a little slow, but it was only Thursday, so it was expected. At the door, Sanji tapped Bonney on the shoulder, she was counting and splitting the tips for the night.

"Going home?" She asked, lifting her head to look at him.

"Yeah, you guys all okay here?"

"Yep. Just another week night."

"Okay, sounds good. Have a good night."

"Yep. You too boss."

Sanji stepped out into the crisp, night air. It was just right, not too hot, and not too cold. Walking around to the back, he got in his car and started it up.

The drive home was relatively short. He was able to get back around 10:15. The living room light was on and there was a car parked in the front. Sanji pulled up in the driveway and into the garage. Walking in through the backdoor, Sanji had a clear view to the living room TV, a random infomercial running. The coffee table was covered in stacks of papers and Vivi was there, in glasses, her hair up and red pen in her hand.

"Do you even know what you're watching?" questioned Sanji, as he entered the room.

"Ah, Sanji! Welcome home. Oh, I have no idea what's on. They were playing a movie, but I guess that's over. How are you?" Vivi sat up and took off her glasses, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm okay. Is Sophia in bed?" Sanji walked from the living room to the kitchen, still in earshot, to get a glass of water.

"Yeah, since about 9. She wore herself out today, so she went down really easy." Replied Vivi, as she started stacking all of her papers together.

"That's good. Thanks for coming tonight. You're a big help."

"No problem, Sophia's a doll. Is something bothering you, Sanji?"

"Ah… No. Well," Sanji brightened up a bit, "Hey Vivi, you have a nice apartment, right?"

Vivi looked warily at Sanji, "Yes… Why?"

"Do you think you could let a guy I hired recently stay with you? I'm sure he won't cause too many problems." Sanji's eyes glittered with hope.

Vivi instantly shot him down. "No. Sorry Sanji, but I don't really have any extra room. Plus, if my father ever found out, he would flip."

"Oh… Well, it was worth the try." Sanji's head hung a little bit.

Vivi started putting the paper's in her back and moved to put her jacket on. "Why don't you just let him stay here with you? You have an extra bedroom."

"Ah, but that's that geezer's room. And you know how he's always dropping by unexpectedly, spending the night."

"Yes, and I also know you hate it. Don't you think he'd stop by less if he didn't have a place to stay?"

"That's true. But he's good to have around sometimes. He takes care of Sophia."

"Well, why don't you see if this guy is any good with Sophie? She's pretty open to new people. And if he does well, then you can just have him babysit when he isn't working. Like a live in nanny. You can just tell him that's what you'll take for rent. And if he isn't any good with her, just get him to do all the cleaning you do."

"You know, that idea isn't even half bad." Sanji smiled at Vivi, who smiled back.

"Of course it's not. I thought of it. Anyways Sanji, I'm going home. Have a good night, and call me if you need me to look after Sophia for you."

Sanji walked Vivi to the door and held it open for her. "Okay, thank you Vivi. Have a good night."

She waved in response and got in her car, starting it up.

Sanji shut the door and went back inside. He turned off the TV in the living room and moved to the kitchen. It was fairly clean except for the couple of plates from Sophia and Vivi's dinner. Sanji quickly washed the dishes and left them in the rack to dry. Walking up the stairs in the dark, Sanji did his best not to step on any forgotten toys. At the top of the stairs, he flipped on the light to the hallway. Going by, Sanji looked into the spare bedroom, flipping on the light by the door.

It was fairly good sized, with a double bed and a TV mounted on the opposite wall. A dresser was in the corner and there was a lamp on the nightstand. He did furnish it for the purpose that it would function as a GUEST room. But he didn't have many guests. Just his father, who would often come and go as he pleased.

Sanji sighed and turned off the light. He'd talk to Sophia about it tomorrow. He walked to her room and slowly opened the door, letting the light from the hall spill in, guiding his way. He crept into the darkness and made his way to her bed.

Sophia was sprawled out, only her bottom half covered, one of her arms thrown above her head, the other holding Mr. Snuggles close to her side. Sanji adjusted her arm to a more comfortable position and re-covered her little body. Sitting down on the Sleeping Beauty covers, Sanji brushed the feathery blonde hair out of her face. Resting a hand on her stomach, Sanji smiled down at her. Her face was relaxed and blank and her breathing low and gentle. Sanji sat like that for a couple minutes. He seriously loved this little girl. His little girl.

If someone five years ago had told Sanji he would be a father, he honestly would've laughed. He didn't think he would really ever give up his bachelor life. Maybe a few girlfriends. Maybe he'd even get married. But a kid? And if someone had told him this little kid would be center of his life, Sanji would've never believed them.

Sanji remembered when Annette left. The first couple of days, he was devastated. He had seriously considered putting Sophia up for adoption. He didn't think he would be a good father, and he certainly didn't think he had the heart to raise the child of the woman that broke him. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that, maybe Annette didn't really break him that bad. He wasn't REALLY in love with her. It was like he was more in love with the idea of her. And after the first month of crying (both him, and the baby), struggling, and stress, Sophia smiled her first smile at him. And he broke, this time for real. Maybe he didn't love Annette, but he certainly was in love with this little baby girl that was HIS daughter. And that thought blew his mind. He had a daughter. His child. This baby was his doing, his responsibility. And when he thought about that, on top of how much he loved her, there was no way, absolutely no way in Hell he would give this little girl up.

Sanji bent down and kissed Sophia on the forehead, making sure her blankets were covering her properly. Then he got up and tiptoed out, shutting the door silently behind him. Turning off the light in the hall, he made his way to his bedroom. Sanji started undressing and getting ready for bed.

When he thought back on it now, even though he was, and still is, devastated to have lost such beautiful girlfriend, Sanji couldn't help but be grateful that Annette had left. Yes, he hated that Sophia had to grow up without a mother, and he often wished he had someone share the moments and the load with. But really, something in his gut told him that raising a child would be easier with him without a woman hogging all of his attention. Especially a woman like Annette, who was most definitely, an attention hog.

Brushing his teeth, Sanji's thoughts wandered to Zoro. Vivi was right, letting him stay here would probably the best and fastest solution. And tomorrow, if Sophia was okay with it, he'd call Zoro and let him stay. Tomorrow Zoro would have the day off, but Sanji had to work Fridays. They were always the busiest and he was needed in the kitchen. But if Zoro was around, he might not have to call Vivi over. Then again, he had no idea how good this guy was with kids, so he might want to call her anyways… Sanji crawled into bed and closed his eyes.

Thank goodness that was figured out. Now he was ready for whatever tomorrow had in store for him.


End file.
